While many methods have been proposed for weather control, few have been quite as peculiar as the cloudbuster invented by Austrian psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich. This device manipulates Orgone Energy, a cosmic life force which also happens to hold clouds together. It resembles the chi of traditional Chinese belief and has yet to be detected by orthodox science. The cloudbuster is a set of hollow tubes pointing to the sky and "earthed" by a connection to water. It can supposedly form or disperse clouds and cause or prevent rain. Reich's theories attracted considerable media attention. In 1953, blueberry farmers in Maine offered to pay Reich if he could end a drought that threatened the crop. Reich set up his cloudbuster and operated it for just over an hour; the next morning it started raining, and the crop was saved. Sceptics suggested this was coincidence.

Reich still has his disciples, and there are instructions online to build your own cloudbuster. The modern version is more sophisticated than Reich's. Although physically it looks like copper pipes standing in a paint pot filled with "double terminated quartz crystals," it is said to automatically restore atmospheric balance and end drought without the need for a human operator. This makes it much safer than the original. Reich warned his cloudbuster could drill holes in the sky and produce prolonged rain or even cause tornadoes if used by an unskilled practitioner.